In 3 days, York County has tallied nearly 400 new coronavirus cases, DHEC says
Within the first three days of December, York County has added close to 400 new coronavirus cases, pushing its cumulative number of confirmed and probable cases since March beyond 10,200.
York County, with a population of about 280,000, added 121 cases, which is the fifth highest total to date, according to information released by the Department of Health and Environmental Control. The highest was reported on July 19 with 158 cases.
On six of the last seven days, the county has added more than 100 cases. On Tuesday, the county added 121 cases and 120 on Wednesday, according to DHEC data.
In November, the county averaged about 85 cases a day. Prior to that, the county’s highest monthly average was 60, which came at the pandemic’s height in July, according to DHEC data.
York County has reported 10,201 confirmed or probable cases since the pandemic started, according to DHEC data.
Thursday, Lancaster County reported 19 new cases, according to DHEC data. Its highest case count is 56, which was recorded on Nov. 27. Lancaster County has had 3,604 confirmed or probable cases since March.
Chester County’s case counts have significantly jumped since November. In September and October, the county consistently reported counts in the single digits. Now, the county adds cases in the high teens, according to DHEC data.
Thursday, Chester County reported 17 cases, DHEC officials said. Its highest case count is 24, which was added in August. The county has had 1,611 confirmed or probable cases.
The state added 1,612 total confirmed cases and 21 confirmed deaths. More than 208,000 people in South Carolina have tested positive for the virus since March and 4,145 have died, according to DHEC data.
No deaths were reported in the area Thursday.
How are the numbers trending?
York County
An incidence rate measures how quickly a disease has spread through a given population.
Chester County
South Carolina
What are the hospitals like?
As of Wednesday, 100% of York County’s 232 acute hospital beds are filled. And, over the course of the pandemic, 4.5% of the people in the county with reported COVID-19 cases have gone to the hospital, according to DHEC.
About 80% of Lancaster County’s beds are filled, but 5.2% of people in the county with reported COVID-19 cases have been hospitalized.
Chester County’s 14 beds are filled, according to DHEC. About 7.8% of people with reported COVID-19 cases in the county have been hospitalized. Chester County closed its in-patient services earlier in the pandemic, The Herald previously reported.
Across the state, there are 1,046 hospitalized COVID-19 patients, which make up about 11.7% of all hospital patients. According to DHEC data, 261 coronavirus patients in the ICU (24.9% of all statewide ICU patients) and 111 coronavirus patients are on ventilators (10.6% of all statewide ventilator patients).
